On Thursday morning, federal raids were conducted on several properties in Oakland, including the home of Mayor Sheng Thao, who was subject to an early-morning raid by FBI agents.
At approximately 5:30 a.m., warrants were executed by agents at Thao’s residence on Maiden Lane, located in the Lincoln Highlands neighborhood of the city.
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Just after 10 a.m., several FBI officers came from the house carrying boxes, while TV crews staked out positions across the street. It was unclear what the agents were looking for or what they had seized.
Federal authorities also served warrants at a nearby home on Viewcrest Court in the city’s Ridgemont neighborhood, as well as the Embarcadero offices of the Vietnamese American Business Association (VABA) and California Waste Solutions, which handles the city’s curbside recycling program.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that another search took place at the Skyline Boulevard home of VABA chairman David Duong, who also holds the position of CEO at California Waste Solutions.
Andrew Duong, David Duong’s son, is the registered owner of the Viewcrest Court residence. Both VABA and California Waste Solutions have several members of the Duong family in their leadership ranks.
FBI and IRS criminal investigation special agents searched over 20 boxes of seized materials, many of which had the name “Andy Duong” scribbled on them.
Oaklandside has previously probed California Waste Solutions for political contributions to Oakland municipal officials, including Thao during her councilmember tenure. Teresa Hoang, a corporate employee, stated that the company was cooperating with authorities and was “confident the government will conclude that they are not involved in anything unlawful.” Hoang also serves as a VABA director.
Andy Duong has almost 100,000 Instagram followers, including photographs of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Governor Gavin Newsom.
Hoang added that the Duong family has “dealt with a lot of injustice over the past three decades” and is convinced that no misconduct will be discovered.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with issues like these. “Every time we’ve come out clean,” Hoang stated. “The officials know more than anybody right now what the investigation is about.”
CBS News Bay Area contacted Mayor Thao’s office for a comment on the raids. Thao did not attend a press conference on affordable housing set for Thursday morning in San Francisco with the mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, and Berkeley.
The raids come two days after the Alameda County Registrar of Voters confirmed that a petition to recall Thao from office had received enough signatures to proceed.
Supporters of a recall criticize the mayor for not doing enough to combat crime, which has caused numerous companies to close in the city. They also blame Thao for the city’s refusal to apply for millions of dollars in state grants to combat retail crime.
Thao was also chastised for dismissing former police chief LeRonne Armstrong and failing to hire a replacement for over a year. In a prepared statement on Thursday, Armstrong described the FBI raids as “a sad day for the City of Oakland.”.
“Oakland is a city in crisis. Crime, violence, shootings, uncontrolled homelessness, unmitigated encampments, the budget deficit and more,” said Armstrong. “The biggest obstacle to overcoming these crises are the failures of leadership in City Hall. Even before today’s news, some city leaders have done nothing to help–and much to hurt—our city. Oakland needs leadership with a plan to address public safety, leadership who works with businesses, and leadership that’s prepared to meet our challenges with a vision for the future of Oakland. In this moment we must unite and work together to move our great city forward.”
